Big Al's Big Secret
To see the episode's transcript, click here. Plot The Time Squad travels to 1945, where Albert Einstein is now a brash car salesman in Texas. Synopsis On the satellite, Otto is watching Tuddrussel shoot at various objects with his phaser. When Tuddrussel misses every target, he powers up the phaser and blasts a giant hole in the satellite. Luckily, Larry arrives and activates the Emergency Airlock before everyone is sucked into space. Before he can tell off Tuddrussel and Otto, the History Instability Alarm goes off. The team sees that the next mission is Einstein and heads out. The team arrives in front of a TV store in Texas, where Otto is clueless about where to start looking. He asks Larry to print a photo of Einstein, and the team sets out, asking everyone in town if they know of Albert Einstein. Nobody knows him, and the last place to look is “Big Al’s Car Barn.” Big Al greets them, asking if they are looking for a car. He starts explaining the science behind the power in one of his cars, puzzling Tuddrussel and arousing Otto’s suspicion. Big Al offers Time Squad a chance to ride in the car, but it is too small and then explodes. Before Big Al can offer another car, Larry shows him the photo of Einstein and asks if he has seen him. Big Al nervously says he hasn’t, and leaves. Time Squad gives up and heads to a Steakhouse at Tuddrussel’s request. Otto is upset, and overhears a man complaining to a waitress that she overcharged him, giving a mathematical explanation. Otto realizes it is Big Al, who must be Einstein. He demands to know why he is a car salesman. Einstein tells Otto that a physicist doesn’t make much money, and when Otto makes an angry outburst, Tuddrussel comes and takes him away, apologizing to Big Al. Einstein’s wife then comes and is reassured that the commotion was nothing. At Big Al’s sale, Larry is disguised as a farmer and tells Einstein a “theory” he made up. This infuriates Einstein, who, in a German accent, edits the theory and creates an equation for it. Otto then exclaims that he has proved that Big Al is Einstein, making the latter cry and run inside. Time Squad follows him, and Otto asks why Einstein is a car salesman. Einstein says he barely made any money as a physicist, but as a car salesman, he is a millionaire and a celebrity. He says it is too late for him to tell everyone the truth, as they would be furious. He then goes back outside as Big Al, disappointing Otto. Big Al starts telling his customers about how great the savings are when he notices a miserable Otto in the audience. He stumbles in his speech, and then switches to a German accent to tell everyone he is a fraud. Everyone is shocked, and they are angered when he says he is a math genius. They are about to attack when Otto intervenes, saying that intelligence is a remarkable trait and that he is not ashamed of being a “history whiz.” The audience is amazed, and people start admitting their intelligence to each other. Einstein is later seen receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for being a math genius, and Time Squad leaves. Tuddrussel is deeply saddened, because he missed Einstein as Big Al. Trivia *Although it can be assumed from his accent, this is the first episode where Tuddrussel explains that he was raised in (what used to be) Texas. *Tuddrussel explains that he learned to shoot phasers from his dad, and that he comes from a long line of lawmen who were experts at shooting. *This is the first episode where Larry's computer gives a cartoon instead of an actual photo of the historical figure. *Big's Al's Car Barn was probably based on Al's Toy Barn, a toy store in the movie Toy Story 2. *Einstein had gotten married twice, but his second wife died in 1936. His wife in this episode is a fictional character. *Einstein actually received the Nobel Prize, not the Nobel Peace Prize. *The pig that Larry leads around when he's disguised as a farmer is named Zeek. Dave Wasson, the series' creator, had a pet pig named Zeek.http://makingfiends.com/fiendlog/meetdave.html Gallery References Category:Episodes Category:Season 1